[The Local Community Food Centre The Local Community Food Centre in Stratford, Ontario, empowers those with barriers to accessing and benefiting from good healthy food by offering opportunities to cook, grow, share, and advocate for good food for everyone in our community. We approach the problems of poverty and food insecurity as justice issues rather than acts of charity, knowing that access to good food is central to health and should be treated as a basic right. Our programs empower people to advocate for themselves and assists them in building kitchen and gardening skills that help alleviate their food insecurity in a dignified and non-stigmatizing way. While our emphasis is on empowering our low-income neighbours, we welcome the whole community to access our services and programs to promote connectedness and enhance belonging as we work together to build a stronger, more resilient community for us all.]